Fire Under My Feet
by vividfantasy7
Summary: Letting Aurina near fairytales and Earth lores might not have been the greatest idea.
1. Chapter 1

_Letting Aurina near fairytales and Earth lores might not have been the greatest idea._

i'd like to say i know where this came from but then i'd be lying

enjoy!

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 **Fire Under My Feet**

To say Auriana fell in love with Earth's fairy tales would be an understatement.

She browsed through a few of them back on Ephedia before they came to the humans' realm as part of her preparation. Later on she picked it back up again once they've set their base of sorts at Iris's place, but it was still just a way to get more comfortable with the planet and the culture.

The turning point came after their fight with the twins' monster that could make people fall in love and the consequences the magic brought with it - namely the 'true-love's kiss' fiasco that managed to break the spell both on Iris and the random couple that fell victim to the twins' scheming.

After all, if that turned out to be true what other lore of the humans could be true?

That was how she stumbled upon the so called 'red string of fate', a bond that connects soulmates with a single slip of scarlet thread, usually depicted tied around one's little finger. And this idea intrigued the red-head royalty - the idea of soulmates was not alien to Ephedian lore, but having such a physical representation for it was new. Thus she ended up spending hours in the library browsing through magic books and ancient tomes hoping to find any spell that might help her uncover the truth about this myth.

Sadly she found no spell she could use; on the other hand, fortunately, she was no stranger with coming up with new spells or magical tools. It had taken sometime and quite a few tries but she managed to create a spell combination that supposedly should have made such connections visible - at least for the caster of the magic, if no one else.

With the spell created, she had only one concern left; who to try it out on? She contemplated using it on herself, but if she wanted to be honest she was in no hurry to know who might (or might not) could be her other half - and anyways, Matt was out of town for some archaeological camp. Her next target would have been Talia but she quickly discarded the idea, she'd rather not chance the Xerian princess' ire in case she realised what Auriana was up to. That and the amount of attention the blunette gave to earth boys pretty much diminished her chances of success.

So, she went with the best chance she got - Iris. Afterall, if true-love's kiss worked than her and Nath being soulmates was probable and thus if the string was to be seen this scenario had the biggest probability. With this settled, Auriana began to plan.

The day of her plan came and she miscalculated. Not on a town-size scale mind you but definitely house-size scale. At least neither of the girls suspected that anything happened, or that the Voltan's had a hand in the matter. On a happier note, her spell worked. She inspected the intangible scarlet line swirling her little finger with a happy grin splitting her face, though the string became invisible after a half-meter or so which dulled her giddiness down a few notch.

Thankfully, her trepidation with the disappearing soulmate marking string ended with their first meeting of Nathaniel since her little experiment. At first she could not even see the scarlet lace on the teen, but as Iris got closer to the boy, his own string became visible and slowly connected to the Ephedian royal's own. It was quite hard to not squeal in delight, let alone tell everyone both what she'd seen and what she'd created - Talia would have skinned her alive. She kept looking at the redhead warily for the next hour either way, as she might or might not have had a ridiculously stupid grin splitting her face. Not that she minded. She was ecstatic and it was a wonder she could tone it down this much.

The problem started when the spell didn't diminish in a few days as Auriana originally suspected it should; then again she tended to underestimate her own magical power while creating new spells, so she wasn't overly concerned with the way things stood at the moment.

But then a week went by. And the twins attacked, a fight ensued and the Voltan princess couldn't unsee what she had witnessed nor she knew what to do with the acquired information. Because during the fight a blood red streak started to draw around the male twin's glove clad finger and once poison-green crystal sword collided with azure royal staff, Mephisto's string connected to Talia's.

"Oh, klapnyik."

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look, it _demanded_ to be written, _okay_?

and i have no idea how klapnyik is supposed to be written so i just went with my dub :p

want to make more for this but not sure how yet...


	2. Chapter 2

welp, another chapter

enjoy =)

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There was something attached to her finger.  
Talia watched on with wary curiosity as under a week the strange feeling of ' _something there_ ' turned into a ' _What in Ephedia's name?_ ' kind of exasperation as a scarlet hued cord of sorts drew to be visible around her little finger. It would have been worrying if not for the Voltan princess' strange behavior – and the blunette had known Auriana long enough to know she had been up to something when this strange occurrence started.

It all started quite innocently with the redhead's quickly growing book collection of human lores from all around the planet – though mostly focusing on the romantic tales – that ranged from children's books to downright historical-accuracy type of telling of myths. Also, the way Auriana kept raiding the library should have given thought to worry – while it was nothing new, her theme of choice (mostly to do with love and spirits) should've had rang a few bells.

Yet it was the magic, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, that washed over Aunt Ellen's home that had the Xerian royal start to question whether she really should have left the Voltan princess unsupervised knowing of her rather unorthodox magical experiments. But it seemed that whatever spell Auriana invented either didn't work or simply had no visible effect. Talia decided to leave the questioning for later - and then decided to drop it altogether seeing her reaction once Iris and Nath had been in close proximity. The girl was one step away from sparkling like her magic did and the blunette princess had to internally congratulate her friend for not bursting to pieces with the amount of giddiness she was radiating.

And it was all well and good, Auriana's excitement leveling out as the week went on. Then the twins attacked, a battle ensued, her string became fully visible and Auriana paled like she saw a ghost (and here the bluenette thought that was her speciality) once Talia sent Mephisto flying.

Needless to say, Auriana was thoroughly interrogated that night, though without Iris present - she'd rather have a grip of just what was happening before the Ephedian crown princess got dragged into it, thank you very much. And that decision was reinforced tenfold (and opted to be kept on for an undisclosed time interval) once Auriana admitted to creating a most possibly soulmate detecting spell. It didn't take long to connect the dots.

Vein popping, expression storming and tone blanking, Talia uttered her conclusion.

"I _refuse_."

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i think i'll try to keep it K+ this time

 **Kirei:** thanks a lot xD hopefully i can keep it up for the chapters to come


	3. Chapter 3

yo kids, ready for next chap? welp, here we go anyway =)

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Iris stared curiously at the red string knotted lazily around her little finger as she let her body sink into her bed. The mattress was comfortable and the blonde was very grateful for the feeling as her body finally unwinded from the stress the Shanila transformation brought upon it.

She had been quite enjoying the texture of her recently regrown hair, twirling it lazily around her finger and remembering the way she just _kissed Nathaniel_ -instead of sleeping-, when she first noticed the carnation colored lace decorating her smallest digit. It took a few seconds till her mind absorbed the information and managed to connect the dots. It was a miracle the blonde princess managed to stifle her scream into her pillow before she could wake the whole house upon her discovery that she could see a _red string_ attached to her little finger.

It took Iris several minutes and many breathing techniques -both Earthly and Ephedian - to calm herself enough to try to coherently process the facts. She could see, but not touch, a scarlet colored lace sitting snuggly around her finger. The idea that it might be some Ephedian magic relating to Shanila and or her magical element (or just a joke) had been considered but put as low possibility - Ephedia was not familiar with the idea of a colorful-soulmate-detecting-thread; it was her that introduced Auriana to the lore - though just because it didn't exist on Ephedia didn't rule out the possibility that on Earth it was true.

The blonde spun her hand this way and that trying to gain some new information - though she wasn't sure what she could accomplish from just turning the appendage. It wasn't like suddenly an instruction manual would fall into her hands describing the phenomenon. Like, it didn't happen the previous three hundred times (or more, probably more) in her life - both before and after the ' _I'm a magical princess_ ' thing when she would have really been grateful for a hand guide for all the strange things happening.

Iris pursed her lips, noting the way moonlight got caught on the thread and the shadows played an elegant dance - so light could affect it. She spent another hour contemplating whether she was hallucinating due to magical power over use - _red string of fate_ , anyone? - before falling asleep (she dreamt her thread connected with Nath's).

It was still there in the morning. This time the blonde princess didn't manage to stifle her scream - and Talia didn't appreciate to be awoken so early in the morning. Auriana explained why Iris could see a certain scarlet cord (though she had left out the whole 'your thread connects to a certain brunet's' thing). The redhead might had also let slip that the blunette princess might be destined to fall for a certain twin. Iris didn't remember the last time she laughed so hard. At least until she realised the Voltan princess wasn't joking. That and Talia's glare might have killed a lesser person.

"You've _got to be_ kidding me."

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so, this will kinda be a multiship fic - you'll see as I go, though you probs can guess my ships already

 **Kirei** : I'm working on that actually ;) it's just I keep turning the poor boy to a Chat Noir incarnate, and now I'm trying to tone it back...


	4. Chapter 4

well, look whose turn it is :)

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He heard of the myths of course, who doesn't, really? But he always believed in facts more than fairy tales, thus the current situation kinda baffled the blond. He turned his hand this way and that watching as the thread moved along and disappeared into nothing.

Matt glared at the thing before looking around at the people at the park then looking back at his finger. Then up and back again, the cycle repeating another five times. Nope, still only on him. He let his head fall back on the bench, his hand unconsciously going for where the scarlet cord should be, though he couldn't touch it, wringing his finger as he waited. Nervously he might add. He knew what the string _meant_ , who _doesn't?_ , and he heard that there are people capable of seeing such things. But didn't one had such ability from birth, and wouldn't that mean he should be able to see everyone else's?

The teen let out an irritated growl as he let his face fall into his hands. This made absolutely no sense.

It started but a few days ago. The day was pretty normal, he was helping out at the museum, Auriana came by with her friends for the exhibition, he lead them around, he met with his friends in the library then went home. And somewhere during that time a mythical thread that's supposed to specify who one's soulmate is just materialised around his little finger. It. Did. Not. Compute.

The blond jerked to attention from an enthusiastic greeting of "Hey Matt!", his hand failing as he slid forward and off the bench, his bottom meeting painfully with the ground below. Warm hands descended over his arms as he was pulled back up, his new companion laughing and apologising at the same time as she helped him back. Matt felt an answering smile stretch his lips as he watched Auriana try to suppress her giggles at his misfortune - without much success, mind you.

As they sat back to the bench and fell into easy conversation about the newest exhibit of the museum - and sooner or later a proper date too if only he'd manage to gather enough wits to _ask_ \- his gaze wandered involuntarily to the redhead's hands. They were pretty hands with delicate fingers sporting a peculiar ring and - and no scarlet string. The teen unconsciously reached for the appendage pulling it closer and inspecting where the tread should be. He was hoping - well he's not exactly sure what he was hoping for as he still wasn't sure it wasn't just the result of the pizza from a few days before (it was some questionable looking _food_ , mind you and it was a _dare_ ) - but he was hoping that maybe she might have a matching pair.

He was pulled out of his musings as a squeak came from next to him and he whirled his gaze back up to meet Auriana's emerald orbs only to realize they were glued to their clutched hands. He yanked his hand back with an embarrassed chuckle only to stop, eyes going wide, as a red thread grew around the redhead's smallest digit and slowly gained color til it connected with his. Some far off part of his mind made a mental note of the redhead's expression of wonder, giddiness and the smallest amount of fright for later examination before he once again found himself on his butt on the hard ground and staring at a scarlet cord. Now connecting. To Auriana's. Who didn't seem surprised. In that moment, with a last nearly incomprehensible growl, Matt. exe stopped working.

" _Holy Sh-!_ "

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i just see him as the one who'd probably flip-out the most once he learns his girlfriend is a magical alien princess; though he probs end up explaining to himself that it's just alien physiology...

 **Kirei** : that's cuz NathIris so canon/endgame... hopefully Lev will spice things up xD and I get what you mean w/ Chat/Meph... it's more like, Mephisto's nowhere near as flirty as i tend to portray him as... (omg does he even flirt in canon?!)

 **Olwem** and **ulf phantom** : hope this satisfies B)


	5. Chapter 5

finally, the snake prince's turn :)

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It had been there for some time now, a feeling as if magic was attached to his body - his hand in more particular. It wasn't intrusive, it wasn't attacking, it was just there as if waiting patiently for something. And it seemed whatever it was its time had arrived.

Mephisto looked on as something materialised around his gloveless finger, the color leaping easily through the air and - well, connecting. To a quite similar string that fitted comfortably around his current companion's own little finger.

His inquiry about the _thing_ was met with a glare and a, "Keep your hands to yourself or _I_ will," that quickly turned to wide eyed shock and a paling complexion progressing into a scarlet blush heating chocolate skin. It was adorable if he wanted to be honest but he'd deny it to Ephedia and back if asked. The burgundy haired teen watched on with a growing grin as Talia alternated between silent panic, annoyed embarrassment and flustered exasperation as she tried to both explain and deter him from the answer to his question.

In the end the bluenette just seemed to give up and glare at him with a slight tick of her eye as she tried to coerce him into helping her find a way out of their predicament. Said predicament being on the wrong side of the collapsed cave with apparent magical abilities - he couldn't teleport away nor did any spell work for that matter - with the added bonus that the ceiling could collapse any moment on them. Which meant no fighting. Which meant the princess could not kick his butt no matter how much he annoyed her. He was probably enjoying this too much. (Who was he kidding? He was definitely enjoying this too much.)

So, he might have been flirting like no tomorrow - and trying to get an answer out of her though all he got was, "It was Auriana, okay? Can we _try_ to get out of here now?" - which he knew annoyed her, though he wasn't sure exactly why.

Don't misunderstand, even he was surprised where the last remnants of his brain to mouth filter went. Not that he did it on purpose or _that_ much - and to be honest he blamed Lev, his incessant flirting with the Ephedian crown princess must have rubbed off on him - but the princesses taken it pretty well, in his opinion anyway. Auriana and Lyna just rolled with it and answered his lines easily, batting their eyelashes and laughing merrily once they sent him flying. Iris was too busy fending Lev off while Carissa just tried to bash his face in with even more gusto (he had a feeling in another life they would have been great friends, the girl liked to destroy things just as much as he did). Talia on the other hand looked as if he just insulted her, her sister _and_ her kingdom; and tried to make sure he and the floor got into a rather intimate relationship - he wasn't really fond of that part, to be honest.

But every once and again he got her off guard and blushing like she did a few minutes ago - the word _adorable_ kept jumping to the fore front of his mind that he kept pushing back - and he just couldn't help himself.

Sadly enough, after that she was too good at evading any of his questions - and flirting (he could admit, at least to himself, it was intentional if it was the Xerian princess). They also got rescued - they really couldn't use magic in there and even hand-to-hand combat risked death via rocks - which meant an angry and exasperated (and slightly relieved) Praxina, a mocking Lev and a leaving Talia. They also might have been served a certain body part of theirs thanks to a united spell of the princesses. That wasn't a nice way to end his day.

Days went by and as the usual hype of another failed mission died down he had time to contemplate the Xerian royal's words as well as the scarlet thread still hanging around his finger - though now it disappeared into nothing after half a meter or so. Auriana was kinda notorious for making up spells and magical tools left and right (cue the dress fiasco), as well as being quite fond of anything to do with love; as well as this planet's culture.

With this in mind he made some investigation of his own about myths on Earth, especially ones including colorful magical thread. It was ridiculous how fast he stumbled upon his answer - the humans had quite delightful ways to make up for their lack of magic - the thoughts of _this will be fun_ and _I'll probably regret this_ registering somewhere in the back of his mind as he dived deeper in his findings.

The Ephedian teen let a wolfish grin stretch his lips as his gaze finally settled on what he was looking for.

" _Well now._ "

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captain floor is my _otp_ , kids


	6. Chapter 6

i wanted this to be a weekly thing, but life sad no :(

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He kept appearing to her outside of battles. Without his sister, without the thief, without the twins. He was always careful to get her alone, when neither of her friends were around - if he could manage, not a single soul actually - with a grin splitting his face and mischief written in his eyes. Then he would flirt and wave his hand in her face. His finger more specifically. That housed a red string. That connected to the one on her hand. (It seemed he especially enjoyed rubbing this under her nose.)

He would teleport them away - usually to the park, near the lake or a well hidden clearing - his hands lingering on her arms or around her waist that usually required a spell of hers (okay, so nowadays only the _threat_ of a spell) to separate from her person.

Like today.

Lolirock had a concert. It went pretty well and both Nath and Matt attended which meant a double date for Auriana and Iris and a training free night for Carissa and Lyna. Talia originally meant to head to the library for some relaxation via reading, but had been kidnapped midway to an impromptu date (his words not hers) of sorts. She wasn't even sure how he got his hands on Ephedian food; opening portals back to home took an awful amount of energy. Which he didn't have - okay, none of them had that much power _alone_. Which raised some questions. On the other hand she hadn't eaten Ephedian cuisine in ages and refused to pass up the chance - he even had her favourite dessert. That conniving _dork_.

And sadly, it went well. Better than well actually. He was a proper gentleman, he was romantic, he offered seconds of the desert. She found it difficult to criticize the evening, the food or him. It irritated her to no end. Mostly because she enjoyed it so freaking much. It was truly infuriating.

The fact that he just magiced up some music and swept her into a waltz really wasn't helping her case of denial. Because Auriana's soulmate detecting red string aside, he was her enemy and he probably was painfully aware of what the thread meant - she never really confirmed - and she had a suspicion he was playing her. May be. You could never truly tell with Mephisto. But it wasn't like she hadn't been enjoying herself and this crazy farce of theirs. Ugh, this was _hard_.

She also totally blamed the fact that she kissed him - only on the cheek mind you, but _still_ \- on the above mentioned ridiculousness, once he teleported her back to Aunt Ellen's porch. But his surprised expression melted into a giddy kind of happiness as a grin split his face - not one of his usuals but a real one - full of joy that reached his olive orbs.

It left her baffled and flustered even after he left and she climbed into her cool sheets - and not just because of his exuberant reaction but her own feelings too. Because there were _feelings_ involved, there were butterflies swarming and spells exploding and the fact that it just came crushing down - that it crawled up on her unawares and now she couldn't squash it without hurting herself in the process.

Talia buried her face into her pillow trying to pretend her skin wasn't burning as all this dawned on her. She had feelings - that she refused to try to name, because there were _boundaries_ \- for _Mephisto_ for the Queen's sake. This couldn't end well.

"This _cannot_ be happening."

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bc feelings and Talia tend to be on the same page just in different books B)


	7. Chapter 7

took some time, but update :)

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Mephisto wanted to kiss Talia.

Well he wanted to kiss her since their farce of a romantically inclined relationship started on Earth, especially after she kissed him. (Though only on the cheek. He meant to rectify that mistake.) But it wasn't like they were really dating. They were actually fighting on opposing sides of a war that would kinda determine the fate of their home planet. Probably the reason she got withdrawn after their date - y'know the one where she kissed him, kinda (he was really happy about that, in case you couldn't tell).

Not that he was surprised, after all it was Talia he was trying to sweep of her feet. And to be honest, if she was experiencing even just a fraction of the emotional rollercoaster he was going through added with the fact that out of the two of them she'd be more in trouble for possibly fraternizing with the enemy - let's just say he couldn't blame her for trying to keep some distance.

Thus, the fact that he defected might help sort out that part of his life. Okay, to be more accurate, he now played spy for the resistance together with Prax after learning of the role Gramorr actually played in the downfall and death of their family - because let's make no mistake, they _were_ villains and would make sure they repaid double their dear Lord for what he'd done. Revenge was best served cold after all.

But alas, he now worked and reported directly to Izira - the only person who knew of the current status quo - which kinda made him the younger Xerian princess' ally. He just couldn't tell her. Or meet her for that matter since they relocated back to Ephedia. Which was bad, because ever since that _date_ , she had become a tad bit more murderous toward his person - not cool - and now the only time he saw her was during fights. That meant he couldn't tell her how he was feeling - which would have been nice, because he either had some chance and she'd let him properly court her or she'd just break his heart but then at least he could move on. Not that he was hoping for the latter, but it was still better than what he was currently feeling. Like, being in love with your enemy and not even knowing whether she hated you or (and big chance there) liked you? It sucked man.

And now here he was, resting in one of the tents of the Resistance - though does it still count as the resistance if they won? - with Praxina and away from everybody else, as their involvement haven't exactly been told to anyone outside the handful who personally went up against Gramorr. He was beaten up badly, both the princesses and the _we-finish-each-other's-sentences_ duo (once they switched) inflicted quite some damage on his person. Of course his sister got away mostly scratch free - meaning only a few cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder. While he had broken an arm, a leg, several ribs and had a scar on his face - he was pretty pissed for that last one. He was also contemplating as to what would happen from now on - and he didn't meant the consequences of 'serving an evil Overlord for years' or the 'in the end helping said Overlord's enemies in petty vengeance'.

No, he was a sappy sucker who contemplated his chances - or whether he had _any_ left - with a certain blunette princess. Who had just stormed in with a frightening scowl - her friends cautiously tailing behind her - and shouted his head off. Then with the same breath, proceeded to kiss him senseless.

The ensuing silence of utter shock that enveloped the tent - except Auriana who seemed on the brim of bursting with a splitting grin - left him enough time to process through of the happenings, a lazy smile crossing his face as he pulled Talia down enveloping her in a warm embrace.

"I love you too, Princess."


	8. Chapter 8

for kirei for being my PIC! ilu chaton!

on another note, first work of the new year

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It kinda run in his family, the penchant to see the unseen and to be drawn to it. Thus, that he ended up falling for a magical princess from outer space didn't phase him much - he loved Iris way before the magical business began.

The same could be said about the red cord starting at his finger and connecting to his best friend turned girlfriend. He could see it since he could remember - then again, he knew Iris for approximately the same time.

At first he remembered being quite confused why he was connected to the little girl Aunt Allen adopted a few days prior but as small children wont to do, he threw all caution to the wind and went to befriend the new kid.

She was shy at first but warmed up to him quickly. He soon realized she was a bit strange too, like him but in a different way. She couldn't see the strange thread but funny things kept happening when she sang. He found it curious and interesting and stuck more and more with her as they grew up.

This was also how he introduced her to his grandmother.

His grandma had always been a peculiar person - half her family thought her crazy the other gifted. When she met Iris for the first time her gaze turned solemn and distant and she pulled the child in a warm embrace (something he never quite understood, it seemed as if she was sorry or apologizing for something) and told her that she must be strong for whatever challenge her future should hold (thankfully Iris was too young to make much sense of this).

When Nath told her about the string connecting him to the blonde girl the elderly woman sat him down and told how the people of his family tended to see the person their soul was closest to. When he asked if that meant he would be marrying Iris than she simply smiled a warm smile and tried to explain - as well as you can to a child - that things didn't always work this way. The thread they saw connected to their best friend - someone who would be by their side no matter what happened and supported them through the worst and best, shared both their pain and happiness - it didn't necessarily mean they would fall in love.

Nathaniel couldn't really make heads or tails of that only until much later, when he was old enough to comprehend that love expanded over what his family and friends shared with him.

But he lived, or at least tried, with this in mind - just because he could see the red thread of fate connecting him and Iris it didn't mean she was his soulmate (in the wide-known romantic sense).

But he didn't give up on hope either - not when Lolirock was formed and she had less time for him, not when Carissa and Lyna joined the girls and their time together became even lesser and not when the white haired guy came up from nowhere and tried to sweep Iris off her feet. He resolved to support her whatever decision she made - well, as long as it at least let him stay as her friend, he wasn't sure if he could take losing that too.

He pulled Iris's hand closer dropping a few kisses on her knuckles - and making sure to kiss her little finger where the string was attached - before pulling her in for a proper kiss. Being best friends with her was great, something he would never give up for all the treasures of the world. The fact that she wished to be something more was already too good to be true, yet he was still vying for more and more - to share, to give, to receive in exchange.

A heart for a heart. A life for a life.

He laughed lightly as he pulled her closer, forehead resting against hers, ring securely in hand and whispered his most heartfelt confession ever.

"Marry me?"

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welp, last chap (of phase 1 anyway). hope you enjoyed :)


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